Round Two!

It's been a rough school year so far.  A new prep at school, implementation of the Common Core curriculum, a new mandated format for lesson plans, bigger classes, more expectations, and less time.  I'm just not loving my job like I have in years past.  Pair that with the fact that Brantley fusses every time I pick him up from daycare and wants to stay with Miss Stephanie can make for a pretty emotional, upset, and unhappy mama.

But, I always choose to find the silver lining.  I have a job.  I have a healthy and happy 1-year old.  I have an amazing husband who does more than his fair share to help our at home.  And the cherry on top of the silver lining?  I have a baby the size of a fig currently growing in my belly.

That's right - Brantley's going to be a big brother!!  Baby #2 is on his/her way!!  We are thrilled and over the moon happy to be adding to the Sides' clan this spring - in about six and a half short months to be exact!  And I am so excited to finally share our BIG news!

My official due date is April 22, which puts me at exactly 11 weeks today.  I had planned to wait until 12 weeks to share, but this baby bump is growing rather quickly and quite honestly, I'm not sure how much longer I could hide it!  I tired of getting dressed each morning only to change my outfit twice five times because my regular clothes make me look too pregnant fat.  Don't get my wrong, I have no problem looking pregnant.  Or fat.  It's the "looking pregnant/fat before people actually know" that bothers me and makes me feel incredibly self conscious.  Especially when I'm in front of classrooms of kids everyday.

So, the news is out.  I'm prego.  Preggers.  With child.  Expecting.  ROUND TWO!  Which makes me feel much better about the five pounds I've put on since mid-August.

For those keeping track, Brantley and his little sibling will be about 21 1/2 months apart!  Just about perfect if you ask me!

Here's the first picture of our little bambino - taken at 8.5 weeks.  Baby looked great and we got to see the mini heartbeat.

It's been a long eight weeks of keeping the secret!  That's what happens when you find out at 3.5 weeks, I guess.  Though, I will say, it's gone much quicker this second time around.  Having a toddler gives me something else to focus on.

I'll leave you with the blog post I wrote (and hid) the day I learned I was expecting Baby Sides...round two!

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Thursday, August 8.  A life-changing day.  The day I found I was pregnant with #2!

Here's how it went down.  I woke up and took a pregnancy test.  Like when I was pregnant with Brantley, the second pink line didn't appear instantly.  And it was very faint.  Like I had to squint to make sure it was truly there!  But low and behold, there was a line!

Look reeeeeally close!

A few hours later, I took a second test (the digital kind).  It was negative.  Hmmmm weird.  But with my prior research and knowledge, I knew that different brands detected different levels of hormone and the second {digital} test could be giving me a false negative.  I didn't want to get my hopes up, but still fully believed I was pregnant.

Later that evening (at Craig's request), I took a third test (First Response brand again).  Positive.  Darker line and much easier to see.  Which is exactly what should happen since hormone levels increase pretty rapidly.

The next morning, I took a fourth test (back to digital).  And what do ya know - a big fat PREGNANT.

And that's how I learned I was prego with #2!

To answer your question, yes we were trying.  This {July} was trial month #2.  Despite trying, I'm not sure one can ever be fully prepared for that second pink line to appear.  Especially after it didn't happen the first month.  I had convinced myself that it probably didn't happen again this month either, to avoid disappointment.  So when I saw that faint line, I truly thought it was a faulty test.  (Even though false positives are highly unlikely.)

We knew we wanted our kids pretty close in age.  I'm not joking when I say we started scheming and planning a few weeks after Brantley was born.  (That's what happens when you have a baby that sleeps through the night right away!)  Two years apart would be good, but I really wanted a spring baby for work purposes.  So, we decided to start trying around Brantley's first birthday.  My hopes were that I'd get pregnant in June, July, or August--meaning a March, April, or May baby.  (April or May being my biggest preference.)

Still though, I was disappointed when it didn't happen the first month.  I'm a very impatient person and when I want something, I want it now!  Even though we were pregnant with Brantley after three months of trying, which is not that long, I had forgotten how hard it was to accept the months it doesn't happen.

But, luckily, for my sanity, it did happen and baby #2 is growing inside me!  The timing couldn't be more perfect.  I got to enjoy my summer and all the ice cold beers I wanted.  I got to enjoy our vacations morning sickness-free.  And best of all, I get to finish my 2013-14 school year four to five weeks early in April!  Best news of all!

But because it's all so "perfect" in my eyes, I fear something will go wrong.  Nearly all of my close friends have gone through a miscarriage (or multiples) and I'm terrified of having to face something like that.  But at the same time, I realize I can't live in fear.  What's meant to be will be, and the only thing I can do is pray for a smooth pregnancy and a healthy baby.  Your thoughts and prayers would be much appreciated, as well!

Shock, excitement, nervousness, and happiness are emotions I'm currently feeling.  Even though I've been through it all before and our lives are forever changed, something tells me Baby #2 will change things even more drastically.  We are no longer going to be a mom, dad, and baby, but instead an entire family of Sides!

More random thoughts running through my head...

Can I love a second as much as the first?

What about daycare?  How much more is this going to cost us?  And is our current daycare going to have a spot for a new baby?

How will Brantley react to a second child?  Will he feel less loved?  Will he be a good big brother?

What are we going to do with Brantley while I'm in labor?  Yikes, labor.  What if I go into labor at school?! 

Most of all, I'm nervous about starting over.  The stress, the sleepness nights, the breast feeding (or lack thereof), the screaming baby--all the things that come with a newborn.  Am I truly ready for this again?

Ready or not, here it comes!

As for whether or not we'll find out the sex of Baby #2...definitely!  And as for my preference...I've always longed for a girl.  I would love the bows and frills of a girl, but...BUT...I love my little boy so, so much (despite wanting a girl more than anything) and I think it'd be fun to have a family of all boys.  We have all the boy stuff.  It'd definitely be easier (and cheaper!).  And I'd love for Brantley to have a brother.  So truly, I don't care.  After the issues last time, I'm hoping for only a healthy baby.  But...at the same time...should I find out it's a girl, I would be over-the-moon ecstatic.

Other random thoughts floating through my mind:

We have eight months to move our guest bedroom to the basement to make way for another baby upstairs.  Let the planning begin!

I loved being pregnant, except for the morning sickness...ugh.  Morning sickness.  How am I going to teach with morning sickness?  (Before, the timing was perfect...I had morning sickness while my kids were reviewing for finals...and on winter vacay...so not a lot of teaching going on.)

What about my body?  This is the skinniest I've been since high school.  I'm thrilled to grow another baby bump, but will it be significantly bigger?  Will I gain more weight this time around? Will I have a harder time losing it?

Will I show earlier? Most people do with their second, but I didn't get that big with my first, so who knows?!

Yay maternity clothes! I love my maternity wardrobe. Can't wait to bust out that tote from storage!

According to my calculations, I am approximately 3 1/2 weeks along and this baby should arrive in late April.  Stay tuned for more...and for Round 2 baby bump updates! :)